Veteran tight end Jonnu Smith has agreed to a free-agent deal with the Green Bay Packers, a team source confirmed to The Athletic on Thurday. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because they didn’t have permission to comment publicly.
Smith has spent the past four seasons on four different teams, including the 2025 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Smith was a third-round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2017 and spent his first four seasons there. He signed with the New England Patriots in 2021 and played two years under Bill Belichick before being traded to the Atlanta Falcons. After one year in Atlanta, Smith signed a two-year deal with the Miami Dolphins in 2024 but was traded to the Steelers last offseason.
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The Packers are thin on proven options at tight end. Tucker Kraft appears to be fully healthy after rehabbing his torn ACL and is their No. 1. Their No. 2, Luke Musgrave, suffered a neck injury this offseason and hasn’t yet practiced in camp. They also have Josh Whyle, Drake Dabney and Messiah Swinson at the position, but Whyle might be the only one the Packers trust to play significant meaningful snaps in the regular season and even he doesn’t seem to be much of a threat.
Smith has experience with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who coached him as the Titans’ offensive coordinator in 2018.
Smith has been a supplemental part of the passing game for most of his nine-year NFL career. He had one outlier season in 2024, when he set career highs with the Dolphins, catching 88 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns. That marks the only time Smith has had more than 50 catches or at least 600 receiving yards in a season.
Smith’s 2025 season was expected to produce better results, as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator was Arthur Smith, who was Smith’s position coach with the Titans and the head coach in Atlanta during Smith’s year with the Falcons. However, the Steelers ended up having more of a tight end-by-committee season from the position, and Smith had just 38 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns in 17 games.

